Dr. George W. Korch, PhD, is the Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center and President of the Battelle National Biodefense Institute. His career has focused for thirty years mainly in medical biodefense measures from civilian to military needs. Prior to his current position, he served in a number of roles within the Department of Health and Human Services, including Acting Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Senior Science Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Health and Human Services. Dr. Korch is on the faculty as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His federal experience during his tenure has also included a number of other leadership roles, such as co-chair of the Executive Committee of the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE), co-chair of the Federal Expert Security Advisory Panel (FESAP) under the National Security Staff, Office of the President, and as co-chair of the Department of Health and Human Services Biosafety and Biosecurity Coordinating Council. He retired with the rank of Colonel from the U.S. Army Medical Department in 2008, where he had served in a number of leadership roles, including the Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the Director of the Department of Defense Medical Chemical and Biological Defense Research Program. His area of expertise is in viral and rickettsial zoonotic diseases, medical entomology, science management and in biodefense medical countermeasure development (vaccines, therapies and diagnostics).